Goa Gajah is named after sungai petanu (Elephant River) and dates back to the 11 century. Originally the temple was a dwelling for Hindu priests. The main highlights of this temple are the short cave with the massive carved face entrance and the holy pools. Visitors will go into the cave, spending several minutes in the darkness checking out the Shiva lingum at the end, before exiting to take holy water.
The large gaping mouth at the cave entrance is probably in honor of the Earth god boma. alternatively the witch rangda. up in symbolism, the scary cave entrance might mean one is being devoured or at least entering another reality. Many people view the temple entrance to be a a carved elephant’s head and apparently there are other animal shapes either side of the entrance.
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